Citizen Winchester
by quietandsneaky
Summary: After her father and brother are released from jail for credit card fraud, Mildred Winchester allows them to live with her. She has three rules for them to follow. One, do chores. Two, no yelling. Three, no giving orders in her house. Will John be able to do what he has to do? Or will he leave, possibly splitting the family apart forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. **

**A/N: I want to make something clear here. I'm not **_**aiming **_**to make John into a bad guy in this story. But he may seem that way at first. There's a scene in Supernatural, in one of the early episodes of season thirteen (I can't recall exactly right off the top of my head), where Sam tells Dean that John's 'drill sergeant' ways worked with Dean but not with him. So, I wanted to put John in a situation where he has to act in the completely opposite way. Hope that makes sense. **

"Danny, I don't know about this…"

"Honey, they're your father and your brother. They have nowhere else to go."

Millie exhaled hard and sat on their bed. "I just…"

"Just what? Tell me."

"I'm scared." Millie admitted. "I left my dad because of the constant fighting, and I'm afraid if he moves in it's just gonna pick up again."

"So tell him he has to follow the house rules. But trust me, babe. If you tell him to leave, I think you'll regret it." Daniel said. "It's your decision. It comes down to this. Are you prepared to maybe never see him again if he leaves?"

Millie nodded, preparing herself to do something she'd never thought she'd have the courage to do. Lay down the law with her father. She had stopped living with him fifteen years earlier, two weeks after turning eighteen, and never looked back. She loved John, but his drill sergeant routine that had worked well with her older brother Dean had not worked with Millie or her younger brother Sam. It had been Millie that Sam ran to thirteen years earlier when John gave him the same ultimatum he'd given her. _You walk out that door, don't ever come back._

"Let's go do this." Millie said.

"Whatever happens, I've got your back." Daniel assured her.

"I know. That's why you're awesome."

Millie stood and shared a quick kiss with Daniel, then walked out to the living room where she expected John and Dean to be waiting for her decision. Instead, she found them both walking back in with a duffle bag each.

"What are you two doing?"

"Just bringing our stuff in." Dean said. "Thanks, Mil. We really appreciate it. Right, Dad?"

John simply grunted, and suddenly all of Millie's fear of her father living with her went away. She pulled her hand away from Daniel's and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I didn't say you could stay, Dean."

Millie tried not to feel guilty when Dean looked crushed, but she didn't bother hiding her smirk when John looked annoyed and outraged.

"I told you this was a waste of time, Dean."

"I didn't say you _couldn't_ stay either, Dad." Millie pointed out. "There's some house rules both you and Dean are going to have to follow to stay here."

"You don't dictate to…"

"I dictate to you, or you walk out that door and you don't come back."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

"Here's the way it goes. You two are expected to earn your keep. You keep your room clean, you help me and Daniel cook dinner and clean up, you do any other chores we ask."

"No problem." Dean answered.

"Dad?"

"Fine." John ground out.

"Dad, this is more for you. I love you. I love you so much. But if you and Dean are going to live here, then I expect you to be kind, courteous, and polite. That mostly means no yelling, but it also means no criticizing, you say please and thank you, the whole nine yards. We expect the same manners out of you that we do out of the kids. Can you handle that?"

Millie could actually see John grinding his teeth as though he was in pain, but he answered politely enough. "I understand."

"Last one. And this is the most important one. Daniel and I run this house. That means what we say goes. I know this goes against every fiber of your being, Dad, but hear me and hear me good here. You don't give orders here. Not to me, not to Daniel, not to Sam when he's here, and definitely not to the kids. You can _ask_ them to do things, or tell them _nicely_ to do it. If they don't listen to you, you can come find me or Daniel, and we will take care of it if we feel it's necessary."

"Fine."

Millie scoffed. "Don't look so thrilled to be with your baby girl, Dad. You might pull something."

"I'm not a child." John said. "Placing rules on me…"

"Not following rules is exactly what the hell landed you and Dean in jail for credit card fraud. Not following the house rules is exactly why Bobby, Jim, and Caleb all called me and told me they weren't taking you back. Even for a visit. So you can choose to live by our rules, or you can go out there and try to pull off another credit card scheme. Either way, it's up to you and I'll still sleep like a baby." Millie said. "Dean, you can stay. I trust you to keep your word. You'll have to sleep on a bunk bed with Tyler for a few days until you help Daniel fix up the guest room."

"Deal."

"Danny, will you show him where it is, please?"

"Sure, babe."

"Dad, your bed, until that guest room is ready, is the couch in the garage." Millie said. As John picked up his duffle and started to walk in that direction, Millie grabbed his arm. "I meant it when I said I love you. And I'm glad you're here. Please don't doubt that."

John softened slightly, but still didn't say anything. He pulled away from Millie and walked towards the garage. Millie took a deep breath and watched until John pushed the side garage door shut.

_This'll be fun_, she thought as she went to the kitchen to start making dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's not fair, Mom! That room was supposed to be mine!"

"DJ, I know, honey, I'm sorry…"

"You said if I kept my grades up all year that room would be mine."

The ever patient Millie was trying hard to stay that way. Nine-year-old Daniel Jr. was a good kid, one who struggled academically but put forth an amazing effort. Millie had come up with the idea two years earlier, and it worked like a charm. At the beginning of DJ's school year, she and Daniel would come up with some big prize DJ could have at the end of the school year. As long as he gave a good effort and at least passed his grade, they always held up their end of the deal. At the end of second grade, the family had taken a trip to the beach for a week. The end of third grade brought a father son camping trip. This year, DJ had requested his own room. The one Millie was now planning to move Dean into.

"I know I did, Dee. I'm really, really sorry. But Grandpa and uncle Dean are going to sleep in that room now."

"That's not fair. I live here, they don't."

"They do now." Millie said. "Take a couple days and think about it. Come up with something else you want from me and your dad, and if it's doable at all, we'll do it. I promise."

"Like you promised me my own room?"

Millie sighed, taking a chair and sitting across from DJ. She was grateful she'd decided to wait until that morning to tell him about his now nonexistent bedroom. John had come in a moment earlier, and was pouring himself a cup of coffee. Millie could feel the disapproval dripping off him for not immediately correcting DJ, and she made a point to ignore him. Millie reached over and took DJ's hand, who was now carefully studying the pattern of the tablecloth.

"Dee, please look at me."

DJ's eyes travelled to his mothers', and he immediately felt guilty when he saw the remorse in her eyes.

"I know you want your own room. I get it. I didn't have a room of my own until I left home, and I loved every second of it. But Grandpa and Dean need a room to stay in. They need a place to live. I didn't know this would happen when we promised you that room, honey. If I had, I would've told you sooner. I'm sorry."

DJ nodded. "Okay, Mom." he said, barely about a whisper.

"Talk to me." Millie pushed.

"I'm just tired of sharing a room with Tyler, Mom. He's a baby. I can't bring my friends over because he's always getting in the way. I never get any time to myself, and Tyler's always getting up and waking me up in the middle of the night."

Millie's brain contemplated any form of a compromise that would pacify DJ. She suddenly remembered the nearly empty attic and the garage where John was sleeping that they never used. "I can't promise anything, but I will talk to your dad. After we get the guest room set up, we'll see about either turning the garage or the attic into a room for you."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yes. If we can, it'll probably take the rest of the summer, but we will do what we can to get you your own room." 

"Thanks, Mom." DJ said.

"There's a but." Millie cautioned. "If we can't do it, I need you to be a big kid about it."

"Sure, Mom." DJ promised. "Thanks either way."

"You're welcome, kiddo." Millie said. "Can you go check on your brother?"

"Can I tickle him awake?"

"You better not." Millie said. "The last time you tried that he wouldn't let you touch him for a week."

"But then I wouldn't have to change his diaper."

"Go." Millie said again, pointing in the direction of the bedroom and trying not to laugh.

"Good morning!" Dean walked in, freshly showered and changed. "Hey, buddy."

"Hey, uncle Dean. I gotta go get Tyler awake."

"He's sleeping on my bed." Dean said.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you he sometimes climbs the ladder and sleeps on the top bunk." Millie said with a grin.

"That would have been good to know before I woke up with a small lump under my arm."

"Wouldn't be the first time, would it?"

Dean chuckled. Millie had somehow been able, until she was about five years old, to climb into bed with him and crawl under his arm without him ever knowing. As DJ went to their room to collect his little brother, Dean playfully pushed Millie's shoulder.

"Seriously, though, Dean. Did you sleep okay in there with the boys?"

"Yeah, they're fine. I feel kinda bad about DJ having to sleep on the floor though." 

"Don't worry. He's been sleeping on that air mattress for the last two weeks. Says it's more comfortable than his bed." Millie stood up and went to the coffeepot, which John was standing next to and drinking out of his own mug. "Well, it should only take a few days to clear out that guest room."

"Thanks again, Millie. You didn't have to do this."

"I know." Millie said. "I wanted to."

John scoffed. "Really?"

"Yes, really. I even wanted you, with all the wonderful constructive comments you were gonna make about how I handled DJ being upset this morning." John rolled his eyes, and Millie started pouring her own cup of coffee. "Alright, guys, remember those chores I told you about? Got a new one for each of you."

"Lay it on me, sis."

"Here's the deal. I sort of promised that guest room to DJ." 

"What?" Dean asked. "Well, he should have it then…"

"Dean, don't. We already talked about that. First thing I want you _both_ to do is thank DJ for giving up his room. Make a big deal about it, about how much you appreciate it."

"No problem." Dean said. "I've still got the cash they gave us when they let us out. You care if I take him to lunch?"

"_That_ is a good idea. That'd be great." Millie said. "Second, I'm planning to talk to Danny about whether we can convert the garage or the attic into another room and give it to DJ."

"Garage, no. Attic, yes." Danny walked in and over to Millie to kiss her. "Morning, babe."

"Good morning." Millie greeted. "Did you mean that? We can convert the attic?"

"We don't really have to convert anything. The walls up there are pretty solid. It's got a good airflow. Hardest thing we'll have to do is paint the walls and maybe put in a window. After we clean it out and find a place to put all the stuff in there."

Millie snapped her fingers when an idea came to her. "Jack."

"Jack Sloan? What about him?"

"Well, Annie's arthritis is getting worse. It's getting harder for her to make lunch for him. He offered to let me have a space for free if I made him lunch every day. Fair deal, right?"

"More than fair." Daniel said. "Why don't you talk to Jack, and I'll start on the room this weekend?"

"Deal." Millie said. "Thank you for being willing to work when you're not working."

"It's fine. I'll let DJ help."

"He'll love that." Millie checked the clock; DJ had been gone for more than five minutes. "Where are they?"

"Mommy! Wook at me!"

Two year old Tyler stood in the doorway of the kitchen, dressed in an alien Halloween costume.

"What in the world are you doing?" Millie asked.

"Bubble dwess me." Tyler said. "I wikes it."

"Well, I guess I'll be going to Wal-Mart today with my own little space alien, Daddy."

"Just don't let your friends take Mommy away, like in the alien movie we saw last week." Danny warned.

"I p'otect Mommy. I nice awien." Tyler proclaimed.

"That's good. I gotta get to work, buddy. Give Daddy a kiss."

Five hugs and kisses with his father, and a few with his mother, later, and Danny was finally out the door. John couldn't help it; he felt like an outsider. This wasn't his family. No one had even acknowledged him in the kitchen that morning, except when Millie had told him what to do with DJ.

John had never believed himself to be a truly critical person. He knew he was hard on his children, especially Millie and Sam, but he'd always believed it was the best way to protect them. But he hated being under the direction of someone else. It irked him. He'd wanted several times to say something that morning. Snap at Millie for not saying good morning to him. Snap at her again for telling him what he would and wouldn't do. Tell DJ to stop being such an incredible brat and just listen to his mother. All the things she had told him not to do.

As much as he hated it and had to bite his tongue, however, John truly had no choice but to stay here with Millie. He and Dean had been caught and in jail for six months awaiting trial when Jim Murphy had struck a deal with the county prosecutor. John and Dean would agree to live with Millie, and in exchange, they'd agree to turn in all their assets to pay for the fine. Selling the Impala had been the closest John had seen Dean come to crying in years. But getting out of jail had been worth it. The thought of seeing his sister and being with her had cheered him up in a way that John hadn't seen in far too long.

"Well, how about instead of lunch, I take DJ for a late breakfast?"

"You do that. I've gotta go shopping anyway." Millie said.

"I'll be in the garage." John said.

"No you won't." Millie said. "You are gonna have breakfast with me and Tyler right here, and then you get to have some real fun."

"Real fun?"

"Wrangling a two year old through Wal-Mart."


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a long, long time since John had been in the car with a two-year-old. A long time. And he was feeling every minute of it. Tyler was a bundle of energy and had not stopped talking. Millie had forgotten something inside the house and gone back in to get it. Tyler, who had been buckled into his car seat, stopped talking for the first time that morning and stared at John in the front passenger seat.

"You Pop-Pop?" he asked after a few long, silent moments.

"What?"

"You my Pop-Pop?" Tyler asked again. "Mommy say Pop-Pop live wif us now."

"Yes. That's me."

Tyler smiled. "Ty happy Pop-Pop here."

John felt his heart twist slightly. Tyler's smile immediately transported him to Sammy's younger days, with the toothy smile and the pure innocence that was the only light he'd had in his life back then. Before he could say anything back to Tyler, Millie came back.

"Sorry that took so long." She said, throwing a large bag in the back seat. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Millie said.

"No ghost, Mommy." Tyler said from the backseat.

"No ghost?" Millie asked. "Mommy doesn't need to chase one away?"

Tyler giggled. "No ghost, Mommy."

"Alrighty, then. Are we ready to go?"

"Where we go, Mommy?"

"We're going to see uncle Jack first, then we're going to Wal-Mart." Millie said.

"Yay! Jack-Jack!" Tyler said, clapping her hands.

Millie started the car and backed out, then turned to John and explained, "Jack owns the storage units down the road. We're gonna go talk to him about using one of the units so we can clear out the upstairs for DJ's room."

John simply nodded.

Millie sighed. Apparently, trying to get her father to open up to her was tougher than she thought. She started up the car and drove the less than half mile to the storage units. There were no other cars around except for a beat up thirty-year-old Ford pickup. At the sight of the pickup, Tyler started to bounce up and down in his car seat.

"Unca Jack Jack!"

Millie laughed. "Hold on, honey. We're going."

Millie pulled Tyler out of his car seat and walked inside. An awkward feeling John followed them. Behind the counter in the office building was an elderly man who looked to John to be the stereotypical image of a farmer-overalls, straw hat hanging next to the door, toothpick hanging out of his mouth. Millie put Tyler down and the toddler sailed behind the desk and into the old man's lap before anyone even said anything.

"Unca Jack Jack!"

"Hey, big man! How are you?"

"We comed see you." Ty said.

"I see that. I'm glad you did. Uncle Jack needs some cheering up."

"Why? What's going on?" Millie asked. She then realized what was missing. The dog bed in front of the desk that had held Jack's old German Shepherd for years was empty. "Where's Sadie?"

Jack swallowed hard. "She passed in her sleep a couple days ago."

"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry." Millie said sincerely. She walked behind the desk and hugged Jack. "I'm sorry. I know you loved her."

"Thanks, hon. I do miss her."

"I know you do." Millie said, and pulled out of the hug when something came to her. "Hey, I got an idea. I need to do some shopping. Why don't you keep Tyler for a while? Do you mind?"

"I'd love it if he wants to stay."

"Yay! I 'tay." Tyler said. "I make unca Jack Jack happy."

"You always do, buddy." Jack looked over at John, who was standing next to the door with his hands in his pockets. "Who's your friend?"

"Jack, this is my dad, John. Dad, this is Jack Reid. He's been a friend of ours since Danny and I moved in before DJ was born."

"Nice to meet you." Jack said. "I would shake your hand, but I got my hands full at the moment."

"It's okay. Nice to meet you too." John said quietly.

"I actually came to talk to you."

Millie negotiated with Jack to get the space for the things from her attic, agreed to pick up the keys later, and finally gave Tyler a goodbye kiss. Before leaving, Tyler walked over and took John's hand.

"Pop-pop? You p'otect Mommy?"

"What?"

"You p'otect Mommy for me? Pease?"

"Dad, he thinks if he's not with me while I'm shopping, I'll get taken away by the aliens." Millie explained. "He just wants to make sure you'll keep me safe if he's not there."

For the first time since he'd gotten home with Millie, John smiled, and Millie thought she would cry. "I'll protect Mommy for you."

Millie had seen things that a lot of other people could scarcely imagine, but watching her son give her father a hug was something she thought she'd never be able to see. Watching John give it back nearly made her weep with joy. Tyler turned back to Millie and hugged her one more time, then walked back to Jack.

"Bye bye, Mommy!"

"Bye, sweetie." Millie said. "Jack, I'll give you a choice. I can get Danny to pick him up later tonight, or you can eat dinner with us when you drop him off at six."

"I'll see you at five fifty-five."

"Deal." Millie said. "Be good, baby. Dad, you ready to go?"

When they were back in the car, Millie started to put the key in the ignition before she turned and took a long look at her father. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"What?" John asked.

"Thank you. For telling Tyler you'd protect me." Millie said. "I really appreciate it."

"Is there a reason he's so worried about you?"

Millie frowned. "You didn't know?"

"Know what?" John asked. "I haven't exactly been able to keep up with everything going on."

Millie sighed. "A few months ago, I was carjacked."

"What?"

"I was carjacked. Some guy hit the back of my car, and when I pulled over to see what happened and get his insurance information, he pulled a gun and made me give him the car. Tyler was in the backseat."

What a few seconds earlier seemed to have been a new, more patient John Winchester quickly turned back to the angry, critical man that Millie remembered. "You know how to protect yourself in something like that. I knew this would happen…"

"You knew what would happen?"

"I knew you would turn soft. You and Sam…"

"Get the hell out of my car."

John's rant was stopped in its tracks. "What?"

"I said get the hell out of my car. You're walking home."

"Excuse me?"

"I told you, Dad. No criticizing. Me or the kids or Danny or Sammy. None whatsoever. Get out. You're walking home."

"Fine."

"And for your information? The reason I _didn't _fight them was because my baby was in the backseat. And that jackass had a partner hiding in the bushes that I didn't see until he pulled a knife on me. I thought it was more important to get my screaming, crying, terrified son out of danger before I worried about how to protect my stupid car. If you can't understand that, then I'm sorry for you, Dad."

"I told you your whole life. Having a family, having this normal life that you and your brother pined for so badly was a bad idea. It only leads to heartbreak."

"I am not having this discussion with you. Get your ass out of my car. Now."

"Or what?"

"Or I call Jim and you go straight back to jail."

John was stunned. "What?"

"I didn't want you to come live here. It was Jim that made the argument for it. He said it would be good for all of us. But I told him if you did, you'd get right back to the man I knew. Criticizing us for everything. He said that if I really got sick of it, I could call him and he'd have the deal revoked, but he begged me to give you a chance. I was willing to do it. But you will not tell me that my family will lead me to heartbreak. The only family member who has ever broken my heart was you."

"Mildred…"

"Stop talking. You don't get to talk anymore. The only person to ever break my heart was you. Now on your walk back home, think about why that might be the case."

"Here we go again. Treating me like I'm one of your children."

"Because if you want back into my life, that's exactly the role you have to be willing to take." Millie said. "It's either that or jail. Let me know your choice whenever I get back. Oh, and if DJ and Dean get back before I do, don't you dare tell them about this. Get out."

"Gladly."

John opened the car door and slammed it shut, taking off at a brisk pace down the road. He could hear Millie squealing tires as she pealed out of the storage building parking lot. How dare she treat him like he was nothing but a spoiled kid! He was her father, not her…

A new problem occurred to John. One that made him feel exactly like a spoiled, stupid kid. He had been so focused on what Tyler said about being happy he was living with him that he'd made two major amateur mistakes.

He hadn't been paying attention to the road as Millie drove. And he didn't have a phone or a map in his pocket.

He was lost, and had no idea how to get back to Millie's.


End file.
